Immediately!

For Saturday, February 21, 2026:

Matthew 4:21-22 NLT: “A little farther up the shore, Jesus saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”

Jesus was continuing his ministry around the Sea of Galilee. Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew were now walking with Jesus, his first two disciples. I’m sure all the fishermen on this body of water knew each other, so as Jesus said the names James and John, Simon called out, “We have found the Messiah!”

Most of the Hebrew nation had been waiting for the moment God would send a rescuer to his people, and if this was it, James and John didn’t want to be left out. An emissary from God could certainly counter the grief they experienced dealing with the Roman government and army. They immediately took a leave of absence from the family business and joined up with Simon, Andrew and Jesus on their trek around the lake.

The key word here is “immediately.” No hesitation, no hemming and hawing, just go with Jesus when he calls you. Pretend you’re the kicker on a football team, it’s fourth down, and the coach says, “Now! Get in the game. We need you to kick that field goal!” You don’t dawdle. You don’t waste any time. You go running onto the field, eager to serve!

Each of us has been given unique spiritual gifts, and the time will come when your gifts are exactly what the Lord needs. He’ll tap you on the shoulder and say, “Now! Get in the game. We need you!” The quicker you respond, the better!

We all need to be walking with the Lord, just like Simon, Andrew, James and John. If you’re closer to Jesus, it’s easier for him to tap you on the shoulder!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Tall, Tall Trees!

For Wednesday, February 11, 2026:

Luke 3:9 NLT, John the Baptist speaking: “Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

John’s audience is Hebrew people, Jewish people, people who think they are planted in God’s orchard because they were born into it. Not necessarily! John is about to set the record straight!

Listen to this: God will not import worthless trees into his Kingdom! Every tree expecting to be with the Lord must bear good fruit. It must be furthering God’s agenda, not standing idly by. By now you probably know that this analogy is about people, not trees.

Here’s another one. If you’re hot, you’re with the Lord. Let’s get to work! If you’re cold, you’re the enemy. At least I know where we stand, and I can fight for what’s right! But lukewarm??? Wishy-washy? God says lukewarm is worthless to both of us.

God is not going to just stand around waiting. There will come a day of decision, a day of judgment when he will pick up his ax, chop down the worthless trees and cast them into the fire, to be absent from his presence forever.

Friends, this is serious. Believers all need to have Jesus in their hearts, a Bible in their hands and the Gospel on their lips. Let the world know that you’re playing for the Lord’s team. Let the world know that you’re not wishy-washy!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Zechariah's Prophecy!

For Friday, December 5, 2025:

Luke 1:67 NLT: “Then baby John’s father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy.”

As Zechariah’s voice returned, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke prophecy concerning his newborn. This is not something he just thought up. This is God – the Holy Spirit – speaking through Zechariah.

Let’s review the high points. “The Lord has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior. God fulfilled his promise, his covenant with his people. We will be saved from our enemies and all who hate us. We will be rescued from our enemies. We can serve God without fear. And baby John will be called the prophet of the Most High, because he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will tell God’s people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven, is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Wow! Those are pretty big tasks, especially for a newborn, but history proves prophecy. We know baby John as John the Baptist, who indeed prepared the people for the ministry of Jesus. Jesus quashed Satan and his demons. Jesus personally died to redeem us. His life was the penalty for the sins of the world, now paid in full. Therefore, our relationship with Father God improved exponentially.

After Jesus, everything was different. After Jesus, everything was better, a lot better!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

His Name is John!

For Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Luke 1:63 NLT: “Zechariah motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, ‘His name is John.’”

Zechariah had been rendered mute after questioning the angel’s ability to bring God’s miracle of a son to fruition. And now they find themselves at the eight-day circumcision, and we need a name for that baby boy. Elizabeth, the mom, said to call him “John.” There was no relative in their family named John, and children were traditionally named in honor of an ancestor. So the mohel demanded verification from the dad. Zechariah wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately, Zechariah’s ability to speak returned.

Their friends and neighbors were in awe! First, the miracle of childbirth. Elizabeth had been barren throughout her life, and Zechariah was well past the age of fathering children. Then an encounter with an angel, a promise from God that came true, and Zechariah losing his voice and regaining it immediately after following the angel’s instructions for naming! With his newly found speaking voice, he began praising God!

Nowadays we have newspapers, radio, TV and the internet. But back then, word-of-mouth was the only way to spread the news. All throughout the Judean hills, word moved quickly. The names Zechariah, Elizabeth and John were on the tips of everyone’s tongues. It was obvious that God’s hand was on this special family. Everyone asked, “What will this child turn out to be?”

We know this child as John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Jesus, God’s only Son! And Jesus is God’s gift to mankind!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Advent!

 December 1, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 1:59b-60 NLT: “They wanted to name Elizabeth’s baby Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”

As this baby matured, we would know him as John the Baptist. John was the forerunner, opening people’s minds and hearts as he set the stage for Jesus.

We too prepare for Jesus’ arrival with the Christian tradition of Advent, which means the arrival of something of great importance. On the church calendar, Advent is the four weeks preceding Christmas. Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, with three more to come. Advent is not in the Bible, although God arranged for John to pave the way for Jesus.

In the US, with Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) and Thanksgiving behind us, our focus turns to Christmas. We bring trees and decorative branches indoors. We wrap special gifts for the wee ones. We lend extra support to charitable needs in our communities.

But most of all, we should keep Christ in Christmas. Yes, we’re celebrating Jesus’ arrival, his human birthday. But more importantly, we’re celebrating the rescue of mankind and the forgiving of our sins. And having been forgiven, Jesus prepared a place for us in the hereafter, eternity in the presence of the Lord. We’re celebrating the Assurance of Salvation for believers, made possible by his Son!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

John Leapt!

For Friday, November 24, 2025:

Luke 1:41 NLT: “At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

When we last talked about Mary, she wasn’t sure what was transpiring. She was about to become pregnant, although she had never been with a man. But she was obedient: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

Miracles occur when the Holy Spirit is present. Those who understood what was happening were the babies! Elizabeth was carrying John the Baptist, while Mary’s womb was hosting Jesus, Son of the Most High! When Mary entered Elizabeth’s house, John the Baptist leapt for joy! Even as an unborn baby, he was excited by the presence of his Savior!

This isn’t a big theological point. It’s not a redeeming ordinance. It’s just fun trivia, and I’m glad Luke included the event for all our enjoyment. Remembering the interaction of these two babies puts a smile on our faces!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Miracle Babies!

For Saturday, November 22, 2025:

Luke 1:26 NLT: “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary.”

God was about to deliver a son to Zechariah and Elizabeth, a most unlikely situation. He openly admits that he’s quite old, and she’s well past childbearing years. Only God! As Gabriel instructed, they’ll name him John. We know him as John-the-Baptist.

In a separate, seemingly unrelated event, Gabriel is sent to visit Mary in Nazareth. Yes, our Mary! She was married to Joseph, but marriage was different back then. The husband would leave to arrange a place to live and find a job or start a business. The wife would begin gathering (or making) domestic things the new family would need: clothing, cooking supplies, household items. When everything was in order, the husband would return for his wife, and the two would begin their new life together. Mary and Joseph were still in that “prep” stage; they had not yet come together.

As usual, the angel says, “Be not afraid! You are favored by God!” He further explains, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asks, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God!”

Then Gabriel drops this bombshell, which ties the events together: “Your cousin Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. The word of God will never fail!”

Remember, Mary’s husband wasn’t living with her yet. So she decided to stay with her relative for a time. They could help each other through their pregnancies and share dreams for their new babies, both under God’s watchful eye!

Some of the most eventful times in Christian history are about to unfold. Christmas is coming!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Gospels!

For Tuesday, April 22, 2025:

John 20:31 NLT: “This (the Gospel of John) is all written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have (eternal) life by the power of his name.”

John may have been the disciple closest to Jesus. He is referred to as “the disciple that Jesus loved.” Of course, Jesus loved them all, but John was special. While on the cross, Jesus entrusted John with caring for Mary, his earthly mother.

John’s is the last Gospel written, which would have allowed him more time to get his thoughts together, and in fact his writings include information not found in the other three Gospels. John’s Gospel is often suggested as a good place for new Christians to begin reading.

That we have any of the Gospels speaks to the obedience of their authors. Jesus didn’t want his journey to earth and his monumental sacrifice for the souls of mankind to not be remembered. He commanded us to share this Good News with all nations, all people, and these four narratives of Jesus’ life, events and spoken words are the cornerstones of our faith.

John tells us that Jesus came into the very world he created. And to all who believed Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God, adopted into the Holy Family, brothers and sisters of our Savior. Believers are reborn, and that’s a good thing!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Jesus – Son of God!

For Thursday, October 3, 2024:

1 John 4:15-16 NLT: “All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.”

John knew and understood much about God, Jesus and the Kingdom. He was a 3+ year disciple, living with and taking meals alongside Jesus. God filled in the blanks with the Revelation visions that took place on the island of Patmos. We would do well to listen to John!

Paul’s credential is the same, but he arrived in a much different way. Paul was leading small armies opposing Jesus and the new Christian movement, when he was struck blind on the road to Damascus. Jesus himself did the teaching: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus turned Paul’s values around 180º! The first thing Paul did when he regained his sight was to be baptized! He was “IN!”

Our faith is trusting Jesus and the eyewitness testimony of those who knew him. In today’s scripture, John says that if we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we too can be “IN!” It’s that simple! Hopefully we can love God as much as he loves us!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Son of Man!

For Friday, August 23, 2024:

Revelation 1:17b-18 NLT, the risen Jesus speaking: “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

John had been found guilty of preaching the word of God and testifying about Jesus. Consequently, the Romans exiled him to the island of Patmos, to separate John from the general population. The Romans expected John to be “over,” done, finished forever. They never expected Jesus to show up!

The Son of Man stood in the middle of seven lampstands, wearing a long robe with a gold sash. His head and hair were white like snow, and his eyes looked like they were on fire! Feet of bronze completed the ensemble. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. His face was bright like the sun, and his voice thundered over the scene: “Write in a book everything you see!” John did just as instructed, so now we have the Book of Revelation.

When a heavenly being appears to a human, his first words always seem to be, “Be not afraid.” Apparently, an encounter with a heavenly resident is awesome-scary! Jesus said he would live forever, and voilà – here he is! Jesus was resurrected first so that believers could follow in his footsteps. He went ahead to prepare our place in eternity.

Jesus conquered sin and death in the same event. The result is a free gift to all of us who believe!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Honor Your Mother!

For Sunday, May 8, 2022, Mother’s Day:

John 19:26-27 NLT: “When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, ‘Dear woman, here is your son.’ And he said to this disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from then on this disciple took her into his home.”

Special is the relationship between a mother and her child. Jesus, even while dying on the cross, wanted to make sure his mother was well cared for in his absence. He entrusted her to John, his good friend and one of the 12. John was to think of Mary as his own mother, and she was to consider John her son. Having settled that matter, Jesus was free to complete his mission of bringing eternal hope to all mankind.

May we all follow Jesus’ example of honoring our parents!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Jesus' Mother

For Sunday, May 9, 2021 – Happy Mother’s Day!

John 19:26-27 NLT: “When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.”

Even when faced with his earthly demise, Jesus made sure his mother was well cared for. Q: Who could help out? Who was his best friend? Who could he trust?

A: John, one of his best friends – one of the 12 – one of his close inner circle – kind, loving and gentle John. Jesus knew that his mother would be in good hands with John --- and conversely, John would be in good hands with her! Jesus had given each of them a future – he had shown them hope during a dark time!

So today we honor mothers and all women – Why? Because they’re awesome, but also because that’s what Jesus did!

Blessings and safety to all today!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406

The Disciple Jesus Loved

Jan. 28, 2019 Monday Message

We’ve been looking at the Gospel authors. First is Matthew-the-tax-collector, who was recruited personally by Jesus. Second is Mark, the friend of Simon-Peter, who was very close to the Apostles and an eyewitness to all that happened. And then Luke, the educated investigative reporter who interviewed many of the eyewitnesses.

The fourth author of Gospels is the Apostle John, who describes himself as “the disciple whom Jesus Loved,” so we can assume theirs was a close relationship. We would expect more information and intimate detail in his writing, and that seems to be the case. The two were so close that, from the cross, Jesus asked John to care for his mother Mary. “Woman, here is your son,” and to John, “Here is your mother.” John 19:26-27

John brings extremely credible eyewitness testimony to us, oftentimes offering additional detail not found in the other Gospels. Since John’s Gospel was authored decades later than the others, he’s had time to organize his facts and meditate on which details to include. He tells us that there’s so much to the “Jesus” story that, “if it were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain all the books.” John 21:25

“It is I, John-the-disciple who testifies to these events and records them here, so we know that this account of all these things is accurate.” John 21:24 It seems that John was God’s man for the job.

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Jesus in the City Fellowship meets at 10:30 Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019. I’ll launch our new sermon series, Basics of Christianity, starting with the Authenticity of the Bible. See you at church!

April Monday:

Jesus: "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other." John 13:34-35 Let’s look at this in two parts.

Part 1: God’s command to love is nothing new. But the specific word used here implies a freshness, a new and different approach to the old law. The Old Testament taught that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. But the fresh approach Jesus taught was that we should love our neighbors more than we love ourselves, better than we love ourselves. Jesus took the love of our fellows over the top! The command wasn’t new, but the EXTENT was fresh and new.

Part 2: While riding with a musician, we passed a music store advertising Fender guitars. The reversed “F” of the Fender logo is quite distinctive, and he commented, “What a great logo—I’d know it anywhere!”

Groups of people often adopt a logo, a sign or a flag, so that when anyone sees that sign, they’ll know it points to a specific group and the principles for which that group stands. Christ’s followers wanted such an image, a sign they could place on buildings or possessions, something to carry with them. Of course the danger here is that when you adopt an image that represents God, people will begin to bow to the image. Hebrew law forbids making any kind of image that represents God for just such a reason.

Instead, Jesus gave them a new, fresh way. He planned for the new community of believers to grow by attraction. When people saw how much everyone in the new community loved and cared for one another, they would want to be a part of it. From that love, everyone would then learn about Jesus, His sacrifice for our forgiveness, and His promise of eternal life. When people saw this love, you wouldn’t have to talk them into joining. In fact, it would be hard to keep them away!

They will know we are Christians by our love!

Norton Lawellin

Extra credit:

Part 3: How curious it is that nowadays the Christian logo is a cross, a cruel means of Roman execution. That people bow down to this instrument of torture is at best confusing, and at worst absurd. I know, people will tell you that the cross points to Jesus, but just think about it for a minute and let me know—there are churches without crosses…

Part 4: When people visit your church, do they experience the love of an Acts 2 community, or do they see separation, bickering and infighting? How is your church doing? Is it growing or declining? You can’t fake the kind of love taught by Jesus—only the real thing shines as the light of the world!